Director of Trade, Investment and Corporate Finance at African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Ayman Elzoghby said the bank is interested in financing inter-African trade and encouraging industries which contribute to increasing Egypt’s exports to the African continent, noting that construction and infrastructure sector are receiving much of the bank’s funding with the aim of supporting trade between Egypt and African states.
Interviewed by MENA on Monday, Elzoghby said Egypt is the most successful African country in the sector of construction and infrastructure.
He said Afreximbank’s funding portfolio is greatly growing on an annual basis, hitting $34 billion, with a rise of $7 billion compared with the previous year.
There is no specific funding for any state, he said, noting that the work plan is carried out in accordance with the bank’s volume of activities.
Concerning Egypt, the bank is working with the various Egyptian sectors such as the financial institutions, the oil sector, infrastructure, as well as the private sector’s businesses, he explained.
Elzoghby also noted that the co-operation credit portfolio with Egypt reached $8 billion, amounting to 26 to 27 per cent of the bank’s total portfolios.
He said the accumulated funding received by Egypt reached $25 billion since the start of the bank’s operations in the country, noting that all banks, corporates and authorities in Egypt are regularly paying back the installments of the fundings they had received and that Egypt is one of the most committed countries in this regard.
The official also explained that special funding to the oil sector in Egypt reached $750 million to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), adding that the bank is also financing the small and medium-scale project through credits allowed at the various Egyptian banks.
